Director in Hollywood

As mentioned before, in Hollywood, there is a formula that has been summarized over the past few decades.

That is: third-rate novels often make for first-rate films, while first-rate novels can only be adapted into third-rate films.

Over the course of several decades, this saying has been refined into a truth.

But in the face of Gilbert's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, this truth has become nothing more than an excuse for those who failed in their adaptations.

Oakley Dale watched the film and felt a sense of loss, and even more so, a deep sense of powerlessness.

He now understood why Gilbert had insisted that Disney scrap his own movie release. In Gilbert's eyes, his so-called epic film was simply unpresentable.

Though Oakley Dale wasn't exactly a fan of the books, he had read through the novel.

For decades, countless people had tried to bring this grand masterpiece to the big screen, only to fail. Gilbert alone had succeeded.

In Oakley Dale's view, Gilbert not only maintained a reverent attitude toward the original, but also possessed a boldness to adapt and take creative risks.

Gilbert didn't get lost in Tolkien's grand narrative. Instead, he managed to tease out the core threads from the complex story and trimmed away the excess.

He kept only the most essential characters and events, and then, over the course of nearly nine hours, told a stirring, heroic legend.

Gilbert truly deserved his place as one of the top directors in Hollywood. There are probably only a handful of directors who could compare to him.

In Hollywood, most directors possess an artistic heart and long for art films. For instance, directors in the independent film scene often look down on commercial filmmakers.

Yet these same directors secretly yearn for the massive attention and success that commercial directors achieve, leaving them in a conflicted and complex mindset jealous, yet contemptuous.

Many such directors end up going down a twisted path, creating schizophrenic works filled with blurred morality and showcasing the complexity and depth of human nature, all to demonstrate their artistic merit.

Thus, like certain critics, many independent filmmakers actually look down on The Lord of the Rings series, believing its story to be too cliché and simplistic.

Oakley Dale used to be part of that independent film circle and was one of those people.

But ever since he turned to commercial film production, he had become increasingly aware of just how formidable Gilbert was.

Many directors who claim to make complex films don't understand one thing: the simpler a film appears, the harder it is to make.

Who else, under the framework of The Lord of the Rings barring special effects could imbue the film with such rich meaning as Gilbert did?

Kindness, courage, loyalty, friendship, family, love, unity, responsibility, promise, sacrifice...

Almost every beautiful human quality you can think of is present in The Lord of the Rings film series.

The beautiful values that indie filmmakers scoff at were effortlessly and seamlessly woven into this truly great cinematic series by Gilbert.

Just look at the fans they cheered for the movie, for every victory depicted, and were moved by every farewell and sacrifice.

As the pace of modern life quickens, Gilbert possesses a magical power: he can get audiences to sit in a theater for three hours and experience the simple human emotions they rarely encounter or have long forgotten.

Oakley Dale suddenly felt a bit of regret why did he leave the independent film scene? Big-budget productions weren't suitable for him.

Because he simply couldn't achieve what Gilbert did an ideal blend of commercial success and artistic integrity.

What Oakley Dale didn't know, however, was that Gilbert's brilliance was practically like having a cheat code.

Watching The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, even the pickiest film critic could not deny the film's artistic achievements unless they were blind.

But what Oakley Dale didn't expect was that there really were critics and media outlets that said otherwise.

The most classic example was The Washington Post, a paper that consistently opposed Gilbert. Whenever Gilbert was the topic, they always took the contrarian view.

This time was no different. After the premiere, The Washington Post reviewed The Return of the King as "an overrated work that doesn't live up to its hype Gilbert completely destroyed Tolkien's classic masterpiece."

In stark contrast, Gilbert's media ally, The Los Angeles Business Daily, stated: "A perfect finale to a grand epic. If Tolkien were in heaven watching this flawless trilogy, he'd surely smile in satisfaction."

This left the public rather confused for a moment should Tolkien be angry or gratified?

Still, the majority supported The Los Angeles Business Daily. The audience had discerning eyes and could judge the film for themselves.

Another steadfast Gilbert critic, film reviewer Kenneth Turan, even listed six "sins" of The Lord of the Rings series:

Too hypnotic—he claimed to have slept for three hours during each installment.

Too drawn-out—Kenneth Turan believed Gilbert should've learned from Gladiator and Braveheart, and delved deeper into the characters' inner worlds.

He said the Battle of Minas Tirith and the Black Gate should have been brushed over quickly, and the focus should've stayed on Frodo's personal struggle.

Additionally, he criticized the films for being too expensive, having poor character development, clunky dialogue, and problematic editing four more accusations.

Well then, after reading such a review, anyone who hadn't seen the movie might think The Return of the King was an utter failure.

Kenneth Turan was quite smug after writing this piece. Among the critics who bashed Gilbert, he was considered the most articulate, and often reaped the greatest rewards.

However, every time he published such reviews, he would be attacked by Gilbert's fans something that always gave him a bit of high blood pressure.

This time was no different. As soon as his review was posted on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb, it immediately drew the ire of Gilbert's large and passionate fan base.

"Mr. Kenneth Turan, I really like your reviews they feel insightful. But why do you always seem biased against Gilbert's films? Is there some personal grudge?"

Of course there's no grudge. Kenneth Turan casually deleted that comment it's all just business.

That old man Roger Ebert made a fortune sucking up to Gilbert. Kenneth Turan wanted in, but it was too late the bandwagon was full.

But taking the route of bashing Gilbert's films? That lane, while causing hypertension, is extremely lucrative.

There are always people who dislike Gilbert or have had their interests harmed by him, and they're willing to pay a lot to smear his work.

Kenneth Turan profits from this hate money. The earnings are so great, he's willing to endure high blood pressure just to keep going.

He checked IMDb again. Compared to Rotten Tomatoes, Gilbert's fans are more concentrated here and more rabid.

At that point, The Return of the King had just been unlocked for ratings. Over 5,700 people had rated it, with a staggering score of 9.8. Even though it would later drop a bit, staying above 9 was almost certain.

Sure enough, under his review, tons of fans were already raging.

"What kind of critic is this? Did he even watch the movie?"

"This guy's a Gilbert hater everyone come roast him…"

"Are critics these days really this trashy? Not even close to Roger Ebert."

"What a joke. Kenneth Turan compared to Roger Ebert? Roger Ebert is the most famous critic in all of America."

Seeing this comment comparing him to Roger Ebert made Kenneth Turan a little angry. He instinctively tried to delete it only to realize he didn't have the permissions.

Only then did Kenneth Turan realize: Gilbert was a shareholder in IMDb. The man might pretend not to care about bad reviews, but he was petty.

Clearly, Gilbert had restricted Turan's account privileges on IMDb, leaving him to endure fan attacks without being able to fight back.

Compared to Kenneth Turan, Roger Ebert had it much better because he was a loyal, top-tier Gilbert fan.

Whenever a new Gilbert movie was released, he was always the first to offer glowing reviews, complete with his signature double thumbs-up.

This time was no different. Roger Ebert posted a photo of himself with Gilbert at the L.A. premiere and then released his glowing review.

"All things considered, The Return of the King is the perfect conclusion to a monumental trilogy and will surely be remembered in film history.

In this final chapter, we see Frodo and his companions embark on their last journey to destroy the Ring.

The entire Middle-earth is engulfed in a cataclysmic war. All races unite to battle the dark lord Sauron and his evil armies.

Through a complex plot and gripping visuals, the film takes viewers on an epic, intense, and deeply moving journey.

The significance of The Return of the King lies not only in its production achievements and technical breakthroughs but in the themes and values it conveys.

Power, courage, and self-sacrifice are core narrative elements, running throughout the story and deeply revealing the layers of human nature…"

Roger Ebert linked the film to the original novel, writing a 3,000-word review.

But fans didn't find the lengthy review dull at all in fact, they read it with great interest. Watching Roger Ebert praise The Return of the King felt like being praised themselves.

Sometimes, reading these positive reviews gives you a sense of shared wisdom, like "great minds think alike."

Of course, many critics gave good reviews too, but none as thorough as Roger Ebert's who analyzed not just the surface, but every layer of the film.

As a result, Roger Ebert earned himself a nickname: "The Summer Blockbuster Research Maniac."

Funny thing is, Roger Ebert actually liked this title.

In New York, after an early screening, Noel walked out of the theater. Far from clearing out, the crowd was even bigger now with the midnight screening approaching.

The reason was simple: the midnight show was about to begin.

Noel looked toward Los Angeles, thinking the premiere must have wrapped up by now.

Indeed, after the premiere ended, Gilbert briefly spoke to the media, then handed the spotlight over to his cast and crew and went off to rest.

For him, ever since beginning The Lord of the Rings scriptwriting in 1996 through to the summer of 2002

This was the longest, most expensive, most labor-intensive, and most personally exhausting project of his career and it was finally over.

Despite the film's success, Gilbert didn't feel thrilled. Instead, he felt relief.

At long last, his dreamlike journey had come to an end.

....

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